


I'd Walk Through Fire

by soft_satan



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arson, Established Relationship, Fire, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Married Buddie, Married Couple, Whump, married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23864788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_satan/pseuds/soft_satan
Summary: The moment the smell hit him, Eddie tensed. And if the look of concern Buck shot him was anything to go by, he noticed his reaction instantly. “Buck, do you smell that?”Buck’s brow furrowed as he sniffed the air, his eyes going wide. “Is that gasoline?”---Eddie, Buck, and Chris are enjoying their escape room challenge when they get caught in the crossfire of an act of revenge.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 550





	I'd Walk Through Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on twitter! @TellMeISurvive
> 
> Shoutout to my PS Jas who let me use them as a character 💜 https://archiveofourown.org/users/CinderScoria/pseuds/CinderScoria

Billy anxiously tapped his fingers on the countertop. The contents of the cardboard box beside his hand were scarce, an extra shirt and a couple old copies of schedules, as well as a few old lunch containers that were sprouting something green and fuzzy inside. His eyes flicked up to the police officer standing in the corner of the lobby with his manager, Jas. Jas was cool, with kind eyes and a laugh that sounded just a little bit evil, but there wasn’t a mean bone in their body. The officer had a worn and tired face, but an easy smile as he made small talk with Jas. Billy’s heart was pounding in his throat and all the way to his fingertips, preventing him from joining the conversation. He’d always hated confrontation, even just being a witness to it, but he was glad that his manager was finally taking care of the Eli problem.

The bell on the door jingled, and the smile dropped from the police officer’s face, immediately switching to business as Jas spun to face Eli. The older man stopped right inside the door and looked a little startled and confused by the sudden attention, eyeing each of them in turn. The moment Eli’s cold eyes landed on Billy’s, the teen felt a violent chill run down his spine and he fought the instinct to duck behind the counter and hide. Eli looked so cold, so immediately angry. Billy was just thankful to have the officer there, ready to control the situation if it got out of hand. And with Eli, things usually did get out of hand.

“What the hell is this?” Eli growled, leveling the manager with a glare. Billy suspected that he already knew what it was.

Jas sighed, scratching their short curls. “There’s no easy way to say this, Eli. You’re fired. You need to take your stuff and leave.”

Billy held his breath as Eli’s eyes flashed with rage. “This is ridiculous! On what grounds?”

The officer slowly moved to rest his hand on his taser. “Sir, you need to remain calm.”

“Calm?! I’m losing my job! How am I supposed to be calm about that?!” Eli screeched, taking a menacing step toward Jas.

The officer quickly put himself between Jas and Eli as Billy ducked down behind the counter, barely peering over the tabletop to watch the situation unfold. “That’s enough, sir. Grab your things, I’m going to escort you to your car.”

Eli looked like the vein in his neck was about two heartbeats from bursting. Billy scurried back as Eli stomped over to the desk and snatched the box, barely sparing a glance the teen’s way before he was focused on the manager once again. The angry man pointed a finger at Jas, snarling like a junkyard dog. “You’re going to regret this, bitch.”

“And that is one of the reasons you’re being fired,” Jas said, rolling their eyes as the officer started to lead Eli out the door. “Along with, like, six other things you’ve done in just the past month alone.”

Tucking his box under his arm, Eli held up a middle finger as he was ushered out, shooting a burning glare over his shoulder before the door shut. “BURN IN HELL, BITCH!”

Billy released a deep breath, coming back up from behind the counter slowly. “That was scary.”

“Nah,” Jas scoffed, waving it off. “The scary part is having to go through the hiring process again.”

Giving a nervous little laugh, Billy hoped that that would be the last time he ever saw Eli.

…

Buck stared critically at the painting on the wall, turning his head side to side as he studied each and every inch of it. He looked like an adorably confused puppy, which made it hard for Eddie to drag his eyes away from his husband to search the painting himself. The various birds scattered across the lush green landscape all looked the same to him anyway, and he had no idea what a Starling even looked like, so he wasn’t really slowing them down any by not helping to look.

“There!” Christopher cried out excitedly, pointing up toward the top right corner of the painting.

“Where?” Buck’s brow furrowed as he tilted his head again, not at all seeing what Chris was pointing at.

Eddie chuckled and scooped Chris up into his arms, holding him up near the painting. “Which one, Chris?”

Chris pointed right at a bird that was all but hidden behind a bush in the picture, grabbing the little piece of paper stuck to the painting that was the same color as the bird’s feathers. He flipped it over and squealed, wiggling his legs happily. “It’s an E! That’s the last letter of the code!”

“Good job, superman!” Buck cheered, giving the boy a hearty high five.

Eddie laughed, setting Chris back down gently. The boy hurried over to the desk where the rest of the letters were spread out and Buck hurried to follow, peering over Chris’s head to watch him rearrange the letters around. Eddie had always thought escape rooms to be lame, gimmicky tourist traps that any idiot could figure out, but he had to admit he was having fun. Perhaps the reason behind that was spending time with his husband and their son and watching them get excited about every puzzle they solved, but still, his boys were enjoying themselves and that was enough to make Eddie happy.

“What do you think it spells?” Buck asked Chris, using his finger to slide one of the letters into a different place.

“I don’t know,” Chris shrugged, sticking his tongue out a little as he concentrated.

“Well, you aced that spelling test last week,” Eddie encouraged, coming up behind his boys to watch them work. “If anyone can figure it out, it’s you.”

The moment the smell hit him, Eddie tensed. And if the look of concern Buck shot him was anything to go by, he noticed his reaction instantly. “Buck, do you smell that?”

Buck’s brow furrowed as he sniffed the air, his eyes going wide. “Is that gasoline?”

With confirmation that he wasn’t imagining anything, Eddie rushed to the intercom on the wall and hit the button to speak. “Is everything okay out there? We smell gas.” When silence was all that answered, Eddie met Buck’s eyes with a look of growing worry. He hit the button again, raising his voice as he glared at the offending machine. “Hey! Is anybody out there? This isn’t a game! Answer me!”

“We need to get out of here. Chris, get back.”

The statement pulled Eddie’s attention away from the comm just in time to see Buck wind back and slam his foot into the door. The wood around the lock splintered as the door flung open, sending pieces of the door flying in every direction. If their lives weren’t potentially in danger, Eddie would have found the move incredibly hot.

“But the puzzle!” Chris asked, innocently unaware of the severity of the situation. “We were so close!”

“We’ll come back another day, Chris,” Eddie promised, scooping Chris up into his arms and pulling the boy’s shirt up over his mouth and nose. “Right now, we need to get out of here.”

They hurried down the hall, trying not to slip in the puddles of gasoline that trailed down the hall. Eddie could feel his head already starting to pound because of the fumes, the three of them coughing despite their best efforts to cover their faces with their shirts. When Buck hesitated on his way to the door, Eddie almost walked right into his back before he stopped himself. He immediately followed where Buck’s eyes landed, seeing the teenager lying behind the counter.

“Go, I’ll get him and check for anyone else,” Buck told him, moving to check the kid’s pulse.

Eddie didn’t have much choice with Chris coughing in his arms. “Hurry up.”

Buck knew what he was doing, Eddie had to trust that he would be okay. The early evening air was a welcomed relief from the fumes that had filled the air inside the building. Eddie didn’t stop moving until he was across the street, keeping Chris close against his chest. Eddie wanted to go back in and help Buck, almost every instinct he had was telling him to, but the one he listened to was the one telling him he couldn’t leave Christopher alone. So he held their son close as he pulled out his phone and dialed 911. As he explained to the operator what was going on, Eddie and Chris both closely watched the door for any sign of Buck.

…

As Eddie carried Chris to safety, Buck hurried to check the teenage boy for a pulse. The back of the kid’s head was bloody, and Buck feared the worst until he felt the fluttering beat under his fingers. Heaving a breath of relief that turned into a coughing fit against the fumes entering his lungs, Buck started to lift the boy onto his shoulders when the manager came staggering out of the office. Their curls were matted to the side of their head with blood, brown eyes unfocused and confused until they landed on the teen and a look of absolute horror crossed their face.

“Oh my god, Billy!”

“It’s okay, he’s alive,” Buck assured with a tight smile. “But we need to get out of here.”

“DId everyone else get out?”

Buck’s heart sank. “Were the other rooms being used?”

“I… I think one other? There might have been two. I don’t know, I was going through applications all night, Billy was manning the front. I don’t even know how we got knocked out.” Jas, as their name tag read, grabbed the keys off the hook behind the counter. “I’ll go get them out.”

“No. This place could go up any minute. I’m a firefighter, I’ll get them.” Buck looked Jas up and down in assessment. They were almost a foot shorter than him and about half his size, but something about them made him think they could do it. “Can you carry him?”

“Hell yeah,” Jas agreed, tossing their keys to Buck and moving to scoop the teen up onto their shoulders, just as Buck was going to instruct them to do. Despite the boy being a bit taller than them, Jas didn’t seem at all phased by the weight of him. They nodded toward the hall. “Go, get them.”

Once Jas was heading out the door, Buck hurried back down the hall despite the pounding in his head telling him he needed fresh air soon. He fumbled with the keys as he reached the first door, starting to feel a bit lightheaded even with his shirt pulled up over his nose. The teens inside the room looked absolutely confused when he threw the door open, the three teenage girls inside looking up from their table of clues like deer in headlights.

“Who the hell are you?” one asked, eyes wide and scared.

The second scrunched her face in disgust. “Is that gas?”

“LAFD. Come on, we gotta go,” Buck ordered, ushering the three out of the room and down the hall. “Watch your step, there’s gas on the floor. Head straight for the door.”

“What about you?” the third girl asked as she passed him.

His mind was already growing slow and hazy, and it was only going to get worse the more fumes he inhaled. Buck knew he should follow them out and at least take a few deep breaths of fresh air, but he couldn’t run the risk of the gas being ignited before he could clear the rest of the rooms. Clearly someone was behind this, and there was no telling when the sicko would light the place up. “I have to check for anyone else. Just go!”

…

When Eddie saw the manager carrying the teenage employee out of the building, his heart sank. Where was Buck? He sat Chris down on the sidewalk with his phone, which was still connected to the 911 operator.

“Christopher, stay here,” he told him firmly before jogging across the quiet street to help.

“Oh thank god,” the manager sighed when they saw Eddie coming, a relieved smile splitting their face. “Help me lay him down.”

“Where’s my husband?” Eddie demanded as he transferred the teen to his own shoulders.

“The tall dude? He’s fine,” Jas flashed him a smile as they crossed the street back to where Chris was still sitting. “Just getting the other folks out of their rooms. I was going to do it myself, but he said he’s a firefighter.”

“We both are,” Eddie said, carefully depositing Billy onto the ground and starting to check him over. “I called 911, but they’re still a few minutes out. Do you know how he got this wound?”

“Probably the same way I got mine, but I don’t remember.”

The sound of nervous chatter coming from across the street brought Eddie’s attention to three teenage girls hurrying out of the building. Now Eddie was starting to worry. If he didn’t hurry out soon, Buck could end up suffocating in the gasoline fumes, or worse--

The windows on every side of the building shattered out with a flash of fire and smoke, and Eddie’s world stopped turning.

He felt Chris come up beside him, and Eddie curled his arm around his son and pulled him close as he stared at the flames dancing in the night. He wanted to rush in, to find his husband and drag him out of the flames as he had done with other people countless times, but the scared boy whimpering against his shoulder was the one thing that kept him anchored to the spot. His heart hammered in his chest, the pressure of tears building behind his eyes. He didn’t even notice the wail of a siren coming down the street until the police cruiser pulled up and he heard the sound of a door being slammed shut.

“Is everybody out?” the officer called, and Eddie’s heart sang when he recognized the voice as someone he could trust.

Eddie pressed a kiss to Christopher’s forehead and stood, catching Athena’s attention as he pointed to Chris. “Watch him.”

“Eddie? What are you--?”

“Buck’s still inside!” he called back to her as an explanation, already across the street.

…

When he became a firefighter, Buck took an oath to protect people. Second only to his family, it was the most important thing in the world to him, which was why he was more than happy to jump into action even on his night off. But in classic Buck fashion, his overwhelming desire to help people was what landed him in trouble once again.

He had been checking one of the rooms when the gas somehow ignited. The liquid on the floor and the fumes in the air both lit up in a blinding flash back. The heat and pressure of the flash threw Buck flying back across the room, his side slamming painfully into the large bookcase against the wall. The items on the shelves were knocked over and the whole thing tipped backward as he collided with it, knocking it off balance. Buck hit the concrete floor hard enough to force the air from his lungs, leaving him coughing in a desperate attempt to suck in air. The whole thing left his oxygen deprived mind reeling, so much so that he didn’t notice the large bookcase tilting forward until it all came crashing down in a flash of white hot pain.

And that was how he found himself with a two hundred pound bookshelf on top of him in a burning escape room.

The shelves dug into his side and legs, his head was throbbing from inhaling fumes and whatever had struck him as it all had come down on him, and he was sure his knee was dislocated. The flames were dancing in the hallway, slowly moving up the walls and into the room, and he was totally pinned. He choked and sputtered, unable to take in a decent breath between the thick smoke in the air and the heavy shelf that lay on top of him, pressing him into the concrete floor. The smoke was growing so thick so quickly that he could barely see, eyes burning as he helplessly watched the flames. It was rapidly spreading across the walls and ceiling, and soon it would completely overtake the room. It was only a matter of time before the flames reached him or the smoke suffocated him.

He was going to die.

He could blame his tears on the smoke burning his eyes, but there was no one there he needed to convince. He may not have been in uniform, but he would die having fulfilled his duty and upholding the promise that he had made the day he was sworn into the LAFD. Really, he should be proud. But following through on that promise meant that he was breaking the promise he’d made to his husband and son. His heart ached knowing that he was leaving Chris and Eddie behind, but knowing that they were safe outside was enough to give him a sense of peace as the flames slowly crept toward him. He closed his eyes, quickly losing the strength required to keep them open. He just hoped that the smoke he was choking on and the fumes he’d already inhaled would kill him before the flames ever touched him.

When he heard Eddie’s distant voice calling his name over the sound of the crackling fire, Buck honestly thought it was his mind supplying him with a bit of comfort as he neared the edge of death. When the voice started growing louder, however, hope and horror twisted together into an ugly mass in his gut. Buck pried his heavy eyes open as Eddie called again, louder that time. He was there, Buck realized. Eddie was there in the inferno instead of safely outside with their son. Fresh tears pricked at the corners of Buck’s eyes. Eddie had come back for him. Even if the last thing he wanted was for Eddie to be in the blaze with him, he couldn’t deny that he was hit with a rush of relief and hope that he might actually survive.

Maybe he'd be able to keep his promise after all.

His lungs burned with his attempt to suck in a breath and call out, but the inhale almost instantly turned into a violent coughing fic that sent electric shocks of pain through his battered ribs. Like an angel coming to pull him out of hell, Eddie appeared, moving quickly through the flames blocking the door. Buck wanted to cry at the look of horror that crossed Eddie’s face before he was kneeling down beside him. He grabbed Buck’s hand immediately, and Buck gripped his fingers like a lifeline. He fought to keep his eyes open and focused on Eddie’s, but the more his lungs ached for fresh air, the darker the edges of his vision became.

“Can you crawl out as I lift it?” asked Eddie, squeezing Buck’s hand. “Hey, Buck. Stay with me. Keep your eyes open.”

When had his eyes even started to shut?

Buck nodded, even though he wasn’t exactly sure if he could. He would at least try, if only because he knew that Eddie wouldn’t leave to save himself now that he was there. With a soft grunt of effort Eddie lifted the heavy bookcase, and Buck felt immediate relief as the blood rushed back to his legs. Despite his knee feeling several types of wrong and painful, and his ribs screaming at him to stop, Buck dug his numb fingertips into the concrete and crawled out from beneath the shelf as quickly as he could. The loud slam of the shelf hitting the floor once he was clear shook his entire body and he squeezed his eyes shut against the agony sweeping through him. He felt Eddie by his side once again and looked up at his husband with bleary eyes. He was speaking, but Buck couldn’t quite make sense of what he was saying. His thoughts were growing fuzzy and disjointed, and his vision was beginning to fade in and out. He wasn’t sure if it was due to the pain or his lack of oxygen, but either way, it made the room spin horrifically. So he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus on the fact that Eddie was there. Eddie would make sure that he was okay.

He didn’t feel Eddie’s hands on his leg until his knee was popped back into place with a sickeningly loud click and an explosion of pain that made his vision go white for a beat.

He had no control over the scream that erupted from his throat.

“I’m sorry, Buck, but it would’ve been worse if I’d waited,” Eddie’s voice finally made it to him as he grabbed Buck under the arms. In one swift move Eddie lifted him up onto his feet, supporting his full weight. Before Buck even realized what was happening, Eddie bent down and hoisted him up onto his shoulders. “Alright, time to go.”

His head spun from the sudden movement and his vision darkened at the edges, but he felt completely safe even as Eddie walked through the flames. He hadn’t even noticed that his eyes had slipped shut again until he felt himself being laid down onto a soft surface with a gentleness he knew well. He blinked his eyes open slowly, barely able to focus, and found himself staring up into the worried faces of Hen and Chim. He could hear them talking, feel something being placed over half his face, and see the blinding light that one of them flashed into his eyes, but the only thing that made sense was Eddie’s hand curled around his, so he held on tight as the rest of it slowly faded away.

…

The light hiss of the oxygen cannula had become white noise. The only sounds among it in the dark, quiet room were Christopher’s little snores and Buck’s slow, rhythmic breaths. Eddie’s tired eyes kept sweeping back and forth between his husband’s still features and their son curled up in the recliner in the corner. They’d been camping out there for the last day and a half, but the fact that Eddie hadn’t slept the entire time made it feel like it had been a month since their family date night had been thoroughly ruined.

When Eddie’s gaze returned to Buck, his chest lurched when he found glassy blue eyes looking back at him, a tired smile curling soft pink lips. A storm of pressure built behind his eyes instantly as he returned the smile, squeezing Buck’s hand firmly. “There he is.”

“Hey,” Buck whispered lazily, thumb stroking Eddie’s knuckles lightly. “You and Chris okay?”

The huff of laughter that escaped Eddie sounded more like a sob. “Of course you ask about us first. We’re fine. Much better now that you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“Like I got run over.” Buck croaked, grimacing.

“I’m not surprised. You inhaled a lot of gas fumes and smoke. Not to mention your injuries from the homicidal bookcase. Much easier to lift than a ladder truck, by the way.”

Buck snorted, shaking his head with a sleepy smile.

“They had you on a bi-pap for a few hours to get your O2 level up and CO2 down,” Eddie continued more seriously, lightly stroking his fingertips over the pulsepoint on Buck’s wrist. “A few minor burns, four cracked ribs, and a sprained knee, but nothing you can’t heal from, thank God.”

“And a splitting headache,” Buck chuckled, bringing his free hand up to rub at his temples.

Eddie finally lost the fight to keep his tears at bay, letting them run freely down his face. He looked down at their entwined hands, gently running his thumb over the tattoo on Buck’s ring finger that matched his own. “You stopped breathing.”

Buck tensed, curling his fingers a little tighter around Eddie’s hand. “What?”

“Almost as soon as we got you on the stretcher you passed out and just… stopped breathing. Athena, bless her, kept Chris from seeing Hen giving you CPR.” Eddie finally met Buck’s gaze. He shouldn’t have been surprised to see tears in his husband’s blue eyes, or to feel them in his own. “It took way too long to get you breathing again. You’re damn lucky you didn’t stop breathing before I got to you.”

A little smile curled Buck’s lip. “I’m lucky my husband is a super hot, badass firefighter.”

Eddie chuckled, but it came out sounding more like a sob. “Just… please don’t scare me like that again, okay?

“I’ll try,” Buck said, giving Eddie a softly teasing smile. “Thanks for coming back for me.”

Lifting their joined hands, Eddie pressed a tender kiss to the back of Buck’s hand. “Always.”

…

Eli’s face slammed into the ground hard, his arms being wrenched behind his back with a little too much force. He coughed to force the air back into his lungs as the cold metal of handcuffs squeezed painfully around his wrists.

“Eli Jacobs, you are under arrest for arson and eight counts of attempted murder,” Athena stated firmly, her knee still digging into the small of his back. With a rough jerk of his now bound wrists, tugging his shoulders painfully, she jerked him up onto his feet. “You’re lucky my boys were there, or else you’d be facing a lot more time than you already are.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he spat, sweat starting to gather on his brow.

“Mmm hmm,” she hummed as she roughly guided him over to her car.

She opened the back door of the cruiser and shoved him in a little rougher than necessary, watching in some kind of amusement as he wiggled around to right himself. As he settled into the seat with an annoyed huff, she leaned in close to his face and peered at him over her aviators menacingly.

“And you’re really damn lucky that my boys made it out alive, or else I wouldn’t have been so gentle.”

Eli’s face blanched at the intensity in the woman’s dark eyes before she slammed the door shut, a satisfied grin on her face.


End file.
